Herbs -- From Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes.

From Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes.

Herbs add flavor and fragrance to your cooking. Here are some ideas for using your favorite herbs.

Basil
Basil is pleasantly sharp, with notes of mint, thyme, and clove. The herb’s mintlike taste goes well with tomatoes, seafood, chicken, pasta, and fresh fruits.

Bay Leaf
This highly aromatic herb is used in broths, soups, and sauces. Most cooks prefer the taste and aroma of Mediterranean bay (or Turkish bay) to the more pungent California bay.

Chervil
Chervil’s mild parsley flavor with notes of licorice goes well with salmon, potatoes, peas, and carrots.

Chives
The delicate onion flavor of chives goes well with eggs, potatoes, fish, shellfish, and many vegetables.

Cilantro
Also called Chinese parsley and fresh coriander, cilantro has a distinctive taste. It is widely used in cooking all over the world.

Dill
The flavor of fresh dill is reminiscent of lemon and celery. It’s popular for salmon and other seafood, eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, and in salad dressings.

Marjoram
Marjoram is in the same family as oregano, but has a sweeter flavor. Italians use it in frittatas, eggplant dishes, and with tomatoes.

Mint
There are many varieties of mint, but the most common is the mild spearmint. It is a classic flavoring in iced tea, tomato salads, with green beans or braised carrots, and in tabbouleh.

Oregano
Oregano’s flavor notes of pepper and thyme pair well with chicken, red meats, pork, tomatoes, and most vegetables. Use it sparingly as too much can produce a bitter taste.

Parsley
Parsley has a pinelike flavor. It’s available as curly leaf and as Italian, or flat leaf, which has a more distinctive flavor. Use a finely chopped mixture of parsley and shallots or garlic, called persillade in French, to flavor sautéed mushrooms and other vegetables.

Rosemary
The camphor notes in rosemary go well with hearty flavors such as roasted poultry and meats, or vegetables and legumes. It is a key flavor in the herb mixture herbes de Provence.

Sage
Like rosemary, the camphor notes in sage define its flavor. It goes well with turkey and it is also used to season duck, pork, and breakfast sausage.

Tarragon
The unique aniselike taste of tarragon marries well with eggs, and mild-flavored vegetables such as zucchini and other summer squashes.

Thyme
A member of the mint family, thyme is often used with other herbs, and is always included in a bouquet garni and in herbes de Provence. It is also used on its own in soups, stews, vegetable dishes, and seafood and meats.

Cookware: Braiser - From Things Cooks Love

This multiuse round, shallow, two-handled stovetop-to-oven pan has a domed lid that keeps braised foods moist throughout cooking. Without the lid, it can be used in the oven as a baker or as a sauté pan. It is made from a variety of materials, some attractive enough to use for serving.

Braiser

The braiser, also known as the bistro or buffet casserole, is handsome enough to go directly from the oven or stove top to the table. It is relatively shallow (2 ½ to 3 inches deep) and has a large cooking surface, making it suitable for sautéing, browning, and braising compact foods such as chicken, fish, chops, and vegetables. The snug-fitting domed lid locks in the juices and allows the condensation to drip back onto the food, keeping it moist while it slowly cooks.

The pan, which has two looped opposing handles, is available in relatively lightweight, polished stainless steel–clad aluminum that heats up quickly and cleans easily. The other choice is a mattefinished enameled cast iron, which is a much heavier pan and heats more slowly but holds the heat longer, making it perfect for keeping foods warm on a buffet.



Tips for Using
Not just for braising, the pan—sans the lid—works as a baking dish and as a skillet on the stove top.

Because it is flameproof, the braiser can be used under the broiler.

Its broad, shallow profile means the brasier is good for cooking rice, and rice dishes like pilaf, perfectly. The braiser is handsome enough to use as a serving dish.

Braiser Recipe

Beef Braciole Stuffed with Sausage, Two Cheeses, and Dried Currants

Prep 45 min | Cook time 1 to 1½ hr | Serves 4

Braciole is a favorite Italian dish of meat slices pounded flat, spread with a filling, rolled into little bundles, and then slowly braised. For this recipe, you can use beef round, flank, or chuck, but pork cutlets, cut from the leg, will also work. As with so many slow-cooked dishes, the flavors improve if the recipe is made ahead and then reheated just before serving. Serve with mashed potatoes, polenta, or a small pasta shape, such as orzo. Serve with Creamy Polenta with Two Cheeses (page 57) or Fluffy Yukon Gold Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Green Onions
(page 111).

Implements
Meat Pounder, Cooking String or Silicone Ties, Braiser, Tongs, Flat-Edged Wooden Spoon or Flat Whisk, Food Mill, Cutting Board

Ingredients
Stuffing
8 ounces sweet Italian sausages, preferably with fennel, casings removed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ cup fine dried bread crumbs
½ cup (2 ounces) diced aged provolone cheese
½ cup grated pecorino romano or Asiago cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons dried currants or dark raisins
1 clove garlic, minced
8 thin slices (¼ to ¹⁄3 inch thick) boneless beef top round, flank, or chuck (about 1¼ pounds total)
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional as needed

Sauce
½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
½ cup finely chopped carrot
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup full-bodied red wine
1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes with juices
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, for garnish

1. Make the stuffing: In a large bowl, combine the sausage meat, egg, bread crumbs, provolone cheese, pecorino romano cheese, parsley, currants, and garlic, and stir until well blended.
2. Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface and place a slice of beef on top. Place a second piece of plastic wrap on top of the beef. Using a meat pounder, gently but firmly pound the meat, beginning in the center and working your way to the edges, until the meat is an even ¹⁄8 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining beef slices. Depending on the weight of the pounder and the thickness of the meat, each slice can take 10 to 20 firm, purposeful whacks to achieve the correct thickness.
3. Cut 16 pieces of cooking string each 10 inches long, or have ready silicone ties. Sprinkle each meat slice with a pinch of salt and a grinding of pepper.
4. Divide the stuffing into 8 equal portions (each one will be a heaping ¼ cup). Place a portion in the center of a meat slice and spread to within ½ inch of the edges. Press the stuffing evenly into the meat. Beginning with the narrow end, roll up the meat around the stuffing to make a neat bundle. Using the string or ties, tie each roll crosswise and lengthwise, like a package, securely but not too tightly. Repeat with the remaining meat slices and stuffing.
5. Heat the braiser over medium heat until hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle on contact, then add the olive oil. Arrange the meat rolls in the pan (they fit best if arranged like wheel spokes) and brown on all 4 sides, turning the rolls with tongs, for about 5 minutes total, or until evenly colored. Using the tongs, transfer the meat to a plate.
6. Make the sauce: If the pan is dry, add an additional drizzle of oil. Add the onion and carrot, and cook, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until softened. Add the red wine and bring to a boil. Using the flat edge of a wooden spoon or a flat whisk, scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Boil the wine for 5 minutes, or until reduced by half. Remove from the heat.
7. Set a food mill fitted with the fine disk on the rim of a medium bowl, add the tomatoes with their juices, and puree. Or, puree the tomatoes in a food processor and then press though a fine-mesh strainer to remove the seeds.
8. Add the tomatoes and bay leaf to the braiser and bring to a boil. Return the beef rolls to the sauce, turning with the tongs to coat well, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork. Turn the rolls occasionally and check to make sure the sauce isn’t boiling too hard.
9. Transfer the rolls to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the sauce over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly thickened.
10. Snip the strings from the beef rolls and discard, or untie the silicone ties. Cut the rolls on the diagonal into slices ½ inch thick, and arrange the slices on a warmed deep platter. Remove and discard the bay leaf from the sauce. Spoon the sauce on top of the rolls and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve hot.

The Indian Pantry

From Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes.

India is a country of contrasts, with cool mountains in the north, tropical plains in the south, and a heady mix of religions and customs in every corner. Not surprisingly, this cauldron of differences has produced a varied, complex cuisine that inevitably attracts the adventurous cook. The diversity of Indian cooking is melded into a single culinary tradition by the importance of spices in every dish. To stitch the culinary quilt together the following pages focus on the tawa and karahi, two pieces of cookware found in every Indian kitchen, along with the electric spice grinder. The Indian kitchen’s most commonly used spices and ingredients include cumin, garam masala, and ghee, and as each pinch of spice hits the hot tawa, you draw closer to the heart and soul of Indian cooking.

Ghee
This staple of the Indian pantry is what Western cooks call clarified butter. Ghee can be bought in tins, but the flavor is better if you make it yourself. The process is simple: melt butter, let the milk solids separate from the fat and sink to the bottom of the pan, and then pour off the clear liquid, or ghee. The solids have a lower smoking point than the fat, so they burn at high temperatures, plus they promote rancidity, especially if refrigeration is not available. (See page 323 for the technique.)

Spices
Black Pepper
Native to India, this pungent dried berry is thought to be the most widely consumed spice in the world. It has been used in India since ancient times, usually cracked or ground and added to foods to give them a touch of heat.

Cardamom
A member of the ginger family, cardamom is a small pod with a thin, crackly covering and a number of tiny, round dark seeds inside. The pods can be green or bleached white. The seeds can be removed and the pod discarded, or the entire pod can be ground. Ground cardamon is also available, but some recipes may call for using the seeds whole. Cardamom, which is pungent and spicy with sweet tones, is used in both sweet and savory dishes.

Chile
With the introduction of chiles to India in the sixteenth century, the “heat” in Indian cooking began to change, moving away from black pepper. Indians love their food spiced with chiles, and grow many different varieties. The Mexican chiles available in most supermarkets can be substituted. Typically, the smaller the chile, the hotter it will be.

Cinamon
The cinnamon used in India is from the bark of the cassia tree, which is milder than the bark of true cinnamon. In northern India, rice is often seasoned with a cinnamon stick. Cinnamon is also used in garam masala, a custom blend of spices specific to every cook in India.

Clove
The dried flower bud of a tropical tree, clove has a powerful flavor and scent. It’s one of the spices in garam masala; is used in sauces, especially with tomatoes; and is added to rice dishes.

Coriander
C oriander is used extensively in Indian cooking, both as a fresh leaf (cilantro) and a dried seed. The seeds are small, hard spheres that give off an intoxicating floral scent when ground. The mild flavor of coriander goes well with vegetable dishes, especially those made with tomatoes, eggplant, and carrots.

Cumin
C umin is considered the most important spice in Indian cooking. It is a small, curved, highly aromatic light brown seed that looks a bit like caraway. It is sold whole or ground. Toasting cumin seeds before grinding brings out their flavor. Cumin has strong citrus notes and is often added to neutral-tasting vegetables, such as beans, potatoes, and rice.

Curry Powder
Indian cooks typically mix up their own curry powders, choosing spices and proportions to their taste and according to the dish being seasoned. Curry powder is considered the original masala, or blend, of the southern Indian kitchen, whereas garam masala is the blend favored in the north. According to Indian food expert Julie Sahni, another blend, panch phoron, is popular in the kitchens of eastern India. Curry powder is used to flavor sauces and goes well with meat, seafood, and vegetable dishes, especially tomatoes.

Fennel
Fennel seeds look a little like cumin, without the curve, but the sweet licorice aroma and flavor couldn’t be more different. It is used to season vegetables and for sweets.

Garam Masala
In Hindi, garam means “warm” or “hot” and masala means “a blend of spices.” The spices included in this blend vary by region, by cook, and by the dish to which it is being added. Every Indian cook creates his or her own blend, which can have as few as ten or as many as thirty different spices. In the United States, you can buy already-ground garam masala in jars or packets or mixtures of whole spices. Whole-spice mixtures typically include bay leaf, cinnamon stick, brown mustard seeds, green cardamom pods, whole cloves, and cumin seeds. The spices are always dry roasted on a griddle (tawa) or small skillet before they are ground in an electric spice grinder or, for smaller amounts, in a mortar and pestle (see page 129).

Ginger
Fresh ginger, with its familiar pungency and heat, is used widely in Indian cooking. It is typically peeled and then grated, chopped, or thinly sliced before adding to dishes. It is a popular seasoning in lentil dishes, various curries, and chutneys.

Mustard Seeds
M ustard seeds come in several colors, but small brown seeds are most often used in Indian cooking, especially in the vegetarian cooking of the south and in traditional Indian pickles.

Nigella Seeds
These small, black, pungent seeds are sometimes called black onion seeds, though the onion is not a relative. They are used in stir-fried vegetables, pickles, and in dals, dishes made with dried split lentils, peas, and/or beans.

Turmeric
Turmeric, a rhizome like ginger, is commonly dried and ground into a brilliant golden yellow powder with a strong earthy taste. It is the spice that gives curry powder its distinctive color. It is also a common addition to vegetable, rice, seafood, and meat dishes and to pickles.